Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att bidra till forskningsfältet gällande MCS och skapa en djupare förståelse angående hur MCS ser ut i praktiken, för att även vidare analyseras utifrån contingency aspekter.  Metod: Studien utgörs av en multipel fallstudie med en kvalitativ forskningsmetod där en abduktiv ansats applicerats. Det empiriska materialet samlades in genom 10 semistrukturerade intervjuer och sammanställdes sedan genom en tematisk analys, som tillsammans med den teoretiska referensramen sedan analyserades för att komma fram till slutsatser. Slutsats: Det finns en tydlig interrelation i praktiken mellan de olika styrsystemen från Malmi & Browns styrpaket. Utformningen av de olika styrsystemen anses vara snarlik mellan organisationer i praktiken, skillnader som dock kan tydas är användningen av dessa. Kontextuella aspekter som bransch, storlek, ägandeskap, strategi och organisationsstruktur anses vidare som viktiga aspekter som har en stor påverkan på utformningen av de olika styrsystemen.

Den ideella sektorn ses som komplex och heterogen, vilket försvåras ytterligare av att många organisationer idag efterliknar den struktur av vinstdrivande företag. För att belysa detta har uppsatsen som syfte att undersöka en egen kategori av ideella organisationer som genom sin egna lagstiftning differentierar sig från andra organisationer, nämligen studentnationerna vid Uppsala universitet. Stockholms nation, Södermanlands-Nerikes nation och Östgöta nation analyseras i syfte att undersöka hur styrsystem och kontrollmekanismer används för att kontrollera beteenden hos den ideella arbetskraften bestående av studenter, samt motivationens betydelse i styrprocessen. Den metodiska ansatsen för studien är genom intervjuer med personer inom nationernas ledning. Resultaten visade att nationernas styrprocesser var likartad, med övervägande fokus på belöning/kompensation, administrativa kontroller och kultur och mindre på planering och cybernetik. Studiens slutsats poängterar studenternas inre motivation som avgörande vid utformningen av nationernas styrprocess, utan en upplevd inre motivation blir tillämpningen av styrsystem och kontroller ett meningslöst projekt.

Aus klinischen Studien ist bereits bekannt, dass die aus der Christrose (Helleborus purpurascens) isolierte makrozyklische Substanz MCS-18 in der Lage ist, eine pathologisch aktivierte Immunreaktion wie die rheumatoide Arthritis zu unterdrücken. In der vorliegenden Arbeit stand die Untersuchung der immunmodulatorischen Wirkung von MCS-18 auf dendritische Zellen (DZ) im Vordergrund. Um eine potente Immunantwort zu induzieren, müssen DZ reifen. Hier konnte in vitro gezeigt werden, dass MCS-18 in der Lage ist, die Expression der typischen Reifungsmarker wie CD80, CD86 und vor allem CD83 zu unterdrücken. Darüber hinaus konnte in vitro eine konzentrationsabhängige Reduktion der DZ- T-Zell - Clusterbildung und eine Blockade der DZ-vermittelten T-Zell Stimulation nachgewiesen werden. Im weiteren Verlauf der Arbeit konnte zusätzlich eine dosisabhängige Reduktion der DZ-unabhängigen, anti-CD3/anti-CD28-vermittelten T-Zell Stimulation gezeigt werden. Ferner konnte eine konzentrationsabhängig reduzierte CCR7 -Expression auf der Oberfläche behandelter DZ und daraus resultierend eine eingeschränkte Migrationsfähigkeit der DZ entlang eines CCL19-Gradienten nachgewiesen werden. In vivo besitzt MCS-18 das Potential, die der EAE (ein Mausmodell der humanen Multiplen Sklerose) assoziierten Paralysesymptome sowohl bei prophylaktischer als auch bei einer realen Verhältnisse am nächsten kommenden therapeutischen Gabe zu reduzieren. Selbst bei der Induktion einer zweiten EAE konnte ein lang anhaltender immunsupprimierender Effekt von MCS-18 festgestellt werden. Am bedeutendsten für eine potentielle spätere therapeutische Anwendung am Menschen ist jedoch die Tatsache, dass MCS-18 auch oral verabreicht wirksam bleibt. Histologisch konnte bei mit MCS-18 behandelten Mäusen eine stark reduzierte Infiltration des Gehirns und Rückenmarks mit CD45+ Leukozyten nachgewiesen werden. Zusammengefasst zeigen sowohl die in vitro als auch die in vivo gewonnenen Daten das große therapeutische Potential von MCS-18 für die Therapie von autoimmunen oder anderen immunbedingten Erkrankungen auf.

To increase link throughput in multi-input multi-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM) systems, transmission parameters such as code rate andmodulation order are required to be set adaptively. Therefore, block error rate (BLER)becomes a crucial measure which illustrates the quality of the link, thus being used in LinkAdaptation (LA) to determine the transmission parameters. However, existing methods topredict BLER are only valid for linear detectors, e.g. Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE)detector [1]. In this thesis, we show that signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR)exists in MIMO-OFDM system with MLD (maximum likelihood detection). Then, a machinelearning based method with Deep Neural Network (DNN) is proposed to analyze therelation between input features (channel matrix, modulation and coding scheme (MCS),signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)) and labels (CRC). Results shows that the classification of DNNis good. However, there is still deviation when compared output of DNN with thesimulated BLER. / För att öka länkhastigheten i MIMO-OFDM system bör överföringsparametrar somkodhastighet och moduleringsordning ändras dynamiskt. Blockfelfrekvensen (BLER) är enviktig komponent i kommunikationssystem som representerar hela länkkedjans status ochkan användas i länkanpassning (LA) för att avgöra överföringsparametrarna. Befintligametoder för att beräkna BLER är endast giltiga för linjära detektorer eg. MMSE. I dennarapport visar vi at SINR existerar i MIMO-OFDM system med MLD. Sedan föreslås enmaskininlärningsmetod baserad på djupa neuronnät (DNN) för att analysera förhållandetmellan olika delar av indata (kanal matrix, MCS, SNR) och utdata (CRC). Resultatet visar attDNN klassificerar CRC bra. Utdata från DNN avviker dock vid jämförsele med simuleradBLER.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to show how management control systems are used in sustainability reporting.   Theoretical perspectives: Stakeholder theory, agency theory, and institutional theory have, together with earlier literature, been applied to the empirical findings to fulfill the purpose of this thesis. Methodology: A keyword frequency analysis based on annual reports from four Swedish retail firms have been analyzed over a five-year period. In total, 18300 words have been coded and analyzed based on seven concepts. The concepts are based upon Malmi and Browns' (2008) MCS framework and consist of financial controls, budgeting, non-financial controls, planning, governance structure, rewards and compensation, and cultural controls. In addition, two interviews were held to gain additional insights into the portrayal in the sustainability reports presented by their companies. Findings: The findings show that the portrayal of MCS in sustainability reporting is more complex than previous literature suggests and that there are more ingredients that affect sustainability reporting. The results presented also indicate that companies communicate differently with their stakeholders and that some stakeholders seem to have greater importance compared to others. It is also found that some companies find it difficult to provide a sustainability report even though they practice sustainability efforts because there are no clear regulations on what to report. This study also finds that companies choose to exclude some parts and include others to present themselves as good as possible although institutional pressures limit the extent of this.

In this thesis, several Reliability-based Design Optimization (RBDO) methods and algorithms for airplane floor grid layout optimization are proposed. A general RBDO process is proposed and validated by an example. Copula as a mathematical method to model random variable correlations is introduced to discover the correlations between random variables and to be applied in producing correlated data samples for Monte Carlo simulations. Based on Hasofer-Lind (HL) method, a correlated HL method is proposed to evaluate a reliability index under correlation. As an alternative method for computing a reliability index, the reliability index is interpreted as an optimization problem and two nonlinear programming algorithms are introduced to evaluate reliability index. To evaluate the reliability index by Monte Carlo simulation in a time efficient way, a kriging-based surrogate model is proposed and compared to the original model in terms of computing time. Since in RBDO optimization models the reliability constraint obtained by MCS does not have an analytical form, a kriging-based response surface is built. Kriging-based response surface models are usually segment functions that do not have a uniform expression over the design space; however, most optimization algorithms require a uniform expression for constraints. To solve this problem, a heuristic gradient-based direct searching algorithm is proposed. These methods and algorithms, together with the RBDO general process, are applied to the layout optimization of aircraft floor grid structural design.

Τη σημερινή εποχή γινόμαστε καθημερινά μάρτυρες μίας ταχέως αναπτυσσόμενης αγοράς, που δεν είναι άλλη από αυτή των κινητών πολυμεσικών εφαρμογών, όπως του Mobile TV και του Mobile Streaming. Υπηρεσίες όπως αυτές έχουν ή αναμένεται να έχουν υψηλή διείσδυση στη βιομηχανία της κινητής πολυμεσικής επικοινωνίας. Για να ικανοποιηθούν οι απαιτήσεις αυτών των υπηρεσιών για υψηλές ταχύτητες μετάδοσης, ο οργανισμός 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) ανέπτυξε το Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A), μία τεχνολογία η οποία αποτελεί την εξέλιξη των κινητών τηλεπικοινωνιακών τεχνολογιών 3ης γενιάς. Το LTE-A χρησιμοποιεί την τεχνολογία Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). Η συγκεκριμένη τεχνολογία μπορεί να προσφέρει νέες υψηλής χωρητικότητας ευρυζωνικές εφαρμογές και υπηρεσίες, ενώ παρέχει αποτελεσματική, από πλευράς κόστους, καθολική κάλυψη. Επιπλέον, ο οργανισμός 3GPP εισήγαγε την τεχνολογία Multimedia Broadcast / Multicast Service (MBMS), ως μέσο πανεκπομπής και πολυεκπομπής πληροφοριών στους χρήστες κινητών, με το Mobile TV να είναι η κύρια υπηρεσία που παρέχεται. Η υποδομή του LTE-A προσφέρει στο MBMS την επιλογή να χρησιμοποιήσει ένα uplink κανάλι για την αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ της υπηρεσίας και του χρήστη, η οποία στα συνήθη δίκτυα πανεκπομπής δεν είναι απλό θέμα. Στο πλαίσιο των LTE-A συστημάτων, το MBMS έχει εξελιχθεί σε e-MBMS (το "e-" αντιστοιχεί στη λέξη evolved, δηλαδή εξελιγμένο). Αυτό θα επιτευχθεί μέσα από την αυξημένη απόδοση της ασύρματης διεπαφής που περιλαμβάνει μία νέα τεχνολογία μετάδοσης που ονομάζεται MBMS over Single Frequency Network (MBSFN). Κατά τη λειτουργία του MBSFN, τα MBMS δεδομένα μεταδίδονται ταυτόχρονα μέσω του αέρα από πολλαπλά κελιά τα οποία είναι αυστηρά χρονο-συγχρονισμένα. Το σύνολο των κελιών που λαμβάνουν αυτά τα δεδομένα, καλείται MBSFN περιοχή. Δεδομένου ότι οι MBSFN μεταδόσεις ενισχύουν σημαντικά το λόγο σήματος προς παρεμβολή και θόρυβο, μπορούν να οδηγήσουν σε σημαντικές βελτιώσεις στη φασματική απόδοση σε σύγκριση με την πολυεκπομπή μέσω των συστημάτων 3ης γενιάς. Αυτό είναι εξαιρετικά επωφελές στα όρια των κελιών, όπου οι μεταδόσεις (που στα συστήματα 3ης γενιάς, όπως το Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - UMTS, θεωρούνται ως παρεμβολή) μεταφράζονται σε χρήσιμη ενέργεια σήματος και ως εκ τούτου η ισχύς του λαμβανόμενου σήματος είναι αυξημένη, ενώ την ίδια στιγμή η ισχύς παρεμβολής μειώνεται σε μεγάλο βαθμό. Για να αξιοποιηθούν πλήρως τα πλεονεκτήματα της τεχνολογίας MBSFN και να βελτιωθεί η φασματική απόδοση, θα πρέπει να επιλεχθεί με προσοχή το σχήμα διαμόρφωσης και κωδικοποίησης για τη μετάδοση των δεδομένων. Η σχέση μεταξύ της απόδοσης του MBSFN και της επιλογής του σχήματος διαμόρφωσης και κωδικοποίησης έχει μελετηθεί διεξοδικά σε προηγούμενες ερευνητικές εργασίες. Ωστόσο οι περισσότερες (αν όχι όλες) από τις εργασίες αυτές επικεντρώνονται μόνο στην πλευρά των χρηστών και ως εκ τούτου δεν μπορούν να θεωρηθούν πλήρεις. Μερικές φορές ο στόχος του παρόχου μπορεί να είναι η μεγιστοποίηση της φασματικής απόδοσης σε όλους τους χρήστες της τοπολογίας ή η παροχή της υπηρεσίας σε όλους τους χρήστες ανεξάρτητα από τις συνθήκες που βιώνουν. Επίσης, οι περισσότερες από αυτές τις εργασίες καθορίζουν το σχήμα διαμόρφωσης και κωδικοποίησης κατά τις MBSFN μεταδόσεις εξετάζοντας μόνο την περίπτωση της μετάδοσης από ένα πομπό σε ένα δέκτη και δεν εξετάζουν τα οφέλη που μπορούν να προσφέρουν οι τεχνικές Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) στη συνολική απόδοση του συστήματος. Ο στόχος της παρούσας εργασίας είναι να επεκτείνει τις προηγούμενες ερευνητικές εργασίες και, επιπλέον, να προτείνει μια λύση στο πρόβλημα της επιλογής του σχήματος διαμόρφωσης και κωδικοποίησης. Προς την κατεύθυνση αυτή, αναλύουμε πρώτα μία διαδικασία τριών βημάτων η οποία επιλέγει το σχήμα διαμόρφωσης και κωδικοποίησης και υπολογίζει τη φασματική απόδοση στην περίπτωση ενός μόνο χρήστη. Στη συνέχεια, ακολουθεί η γενίκευση της υπόθεσης ενός χρήστη και προτείνονται τρεις προσεγγίσεις που επιλέγουν το σχήμα κωδικοποίησης για την μετάδοση των MBSFN δεδομένων σε σενάρια πολλαπλών χρηστών. Οι προσεγγίσεις αξιολογούνται για τρεις διαφορετικούς τρόπους μετάδοσης, έτσι ώστε να εξεταστεί η επίδραση των τεχνικών MIMO στην επιλογή σχήματος διαμόρφωσης για διαφορετικές κατανομές χρηστών. Τα αποτελέσματα της αξιολόγησης δείχνουν ότι, ανάλογα με το στόχο που έχει θέσει ο πάροχος (π.χ. μεγιστοποίηση της φασματικής απόδοσης ή επίτευξη μίας συγκεκριμένης τιμής φασματικής απόδοσης) κάθε προσέγγιση θα μπορούσε να οδηγήσει σε βελτιωμένη απόδοση. / Today we are witnesses of a rapidly increasing market for mobile multimedia applications, such as Mobile TV and Mobile Streaming. Services like these have or are expected to have high penetration in the mobile multimedia communications industry. In order to confront such high requirements for services that demand higher data rates, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) developed the Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) technology which constitutes the evolution of the 3rd Generation (3G) mobile telecommunications technologies. LTE-A utilizes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). This radio technology is optimized to enhance networks by enabling new high capacity mobile broadband applications and services, while providing cost efficient ubiquitous mobile coverage. In addition, 3GPP has introduced the Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) as a means to broadcast and multicast information to mobile users, with Mobile TV being the main service offered. LTE-A infrastructure offers to MBMS an option to use an uplink channel for interaction between the service and the user, which is not a straightforward issue in usual broadcast networks. In the context of LTE-A systems, the MBMS will evolve into e-MBMS (“e-” stands for evolved). This will be achieved through the increased performance of the air interface that will include a new transmission scheme called MBMS over Single Frequency Network (MBSFN). In MBSFN operation, MBMS data are transmitted simultaneously over the air from multiple tightly time-synchronized cells. A group of those cells, which are targeted to receive these data, is called MBSFN area. Since the MBSFN transmission greatly enhances the Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), the MBSFN transmission mode leads to significant improvements in Spectral Efficiency (SE) in comparison to multicasting over 3G systems. This is extremely beneficial at the cell edge, where transmissions (which in 3G systems, like Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - UMTS, are considered as inter-cell interference) are translated into useful signal energy and hence the received signal strength is increased, while at the same time the interference power is largely reduced. In order to fully exploit the benefits of MBSFN and to improve its performance in terms of SE, the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) for the transmission of the data should be carefully selected. The relationship between MBSFN performance and MCS selection has been thoroughly studied in previous research works; however most (if not all) of these works focus only on the users’ side and therefore may not be sufficient. Sometimes the operator’s goal may be the maximization of the SE over all users of the topology or the provision of the service to all the users irrespectively of the conditions that they experience. In addition, most of these works determine the MCS scheme for MBSFN considering only the case of single antenna transmissions and they do not examine the benefits that Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transmissions may offer on the overall performance. The goal of this thesis is to extend the previous research works and, furthermore, to tackle the problems addressed. To this direction, we first analyze a 3-step procedure that selects the MCS and calculates the SE in the case of a single user. Then, we generalize the single-user case and we propose three approaches that select the MCS for the delivery of the MBSFN data in multiple-users scenarios. The approaches are evaluated for three different transmission modes, so as to examine the impact of multiple antennas techniques on the MCS selection, and for different users’ distributions. The evaluation results indicate that depending on the target that the operator may set (i.e. SE maximization or achievement of a specific SE) each approach could lead to improved performance.

Background: RTW after work-related injuries is a multifactorial process. Factors affecting clinicians to make RTW-recommendations for patients with WRSEI have not been studied in the literature. Purpose: We investigated the associations between group of factors chosen from different domains (Personal/Environmental) and clinicians’ RTW-recommendations for patients with WRSEI. Methods: Study design was cross-sectional. Data were collected from self-reported surveys and clinical charts of 130 adult workers (not working at the time of visit and referred to WSIB-Shoulder & Elbow Specialty Clinic-Toronto) with chronic (≥6-months) injuries. Results: Population mean age was 43.5-years. 52% were female. The average time-since-injury was 20.4-months (45%>12-months). 70% received RTW-recommendations (regular/modified-job). 30% received a No-RTW-recommendation. 42% had education≥college-level. 18% had heavy (>20kg) job-demands. Higher MCS-scores had a significant association (p=0.0003) with clinicians’ RTW-recommendations. Conclusion: In patients with chronic WRSEI(s), poor general health-status and high disability, workers with better mental-health were more likely to receive a RTW-recommendation by clinicians.

Background: RTW after work-related injuries is a multifactorial process. Factors affecting clinicians to make RTW-recommendations for patients with WRSEI have not been studied in the literature. Purpose: We investigated the associations between group of factors chosen from different domains (Personal/Environmental) and clinicians’ RTW-recommendations for patients with WRSEI. Methods: Study design was cross-sectional. Data were collected from self-reported surveys and clinical charts of 130 adult workers (not working at the time of visit and referred to WSIB-Shoulder & Elbow Specialty Clinic-Toronto) with chronic (≥6-months) injuries. Results: Population mean age was 43.5-years. 52% were female. The average time-since-injury was 20.4-months (45%>12-months). 70% received RTW-recommendations (regular/modified-job). 30% received a No-RTW-recommendation. 42% had education≥college-level. 18% had heavy (>20kg) job-demands. Higher MCS-scores had a significant association (p=0.0003) with clinicians’ RTW-recommendations. Conclusion: In patients with chronic WRSEI(s), poor general health-status and high disability, workers with better mental-health were more likely to receive a RTW-recommendation by clinicians.

The Magellanic Clouds (MCs) consist of a pair of galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), which are located at a distance of 50 kpc and 60 kpc, with stellar masses of 1010 M and 109 M , respectively. Morphologically they are categorized as irregular type galaxies. The MCs are gas rich and metal poor (Z=0.008 for LMC, and 0.004 for SMC) as compared to the Milky Way (MW), and have active star-forming regions. Their proximity and location at high galactic latitude enable us to resolve their individual populations as well as detect faint stellar populations. It is well known that the MCs are interacting with each other, as well as with the MW. The interaction is supported by the presence of the Magellanic Bridge and the Magellanic Stream. The evolved stellar populations in the MCs help us to understand their evolution and interaction process. The MCs host both Population I as well as Population II stars. This extended range of star formation is a valuable source of information to understand the formation and evolution of galaxies in general, and the MCs in particular. Evolved stellar popu-lation means the stars that have evolved o the main sequence and the giants, such as red giants (RGs), red clump stars, and asymptotic giant branch stars. There is a dominant population of evolved stars present in the MCs, in star clusters as well as in the eld. The aim of the thesis is to study the evolved stellar populations for one of the component of the MCs, the LMC. The study is primarily divided into two parts. (1) Study of sparse star clusters in the LMC: To increase our understanding of sparse star clusters in the LMC, with well estimated parameters, using deep Washington photometric data for 45 LMC clusters. (2) To estimate a metallicity map of LMC: In order to understand the metallicity variation across the galaxy. This is done by creating a high spatial resolution metallicity map of the LMC, using red giant branch (RGB) stars, with the help of photometric data and calibrated using spectroscopic studies of RGs in eld and star clusters. The introduction to the thesis study along with the aim are described in Chapter 1 of the thesis. The three sets of photometric data used for this study are described in Chapter 2. The data sets are: CT1 Washington photometric data for 45 star clusters within the LMC, the VI photometric data from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment Phase-III survey (OGLE III), and the Magellanic Cloud Photometric Survey (MCPS). Study of sparse star clusters in the LMC: A systematic study is per-formed to analyse the 45 cluster candidates, to estimate their parameters (radius, reddening, and age) using the main-sequence turn-o (MSTO), as well as the evolved portion of the colour{magnitude diagram (CMD). The basic parameters were estimated for 33 genuine clusters, whereas the other 12 cluster candidates have been classi ed as possible clusters/asterisms. The study of 33 star clusters are presented in Chapter 3. These clus-ters are categorized as genuine star clusters based on their strong density enhancement and cluster features with respect to their surrounding eld regions. Out of the 33 clusters, 23 are identi ed as single clusters and 10 are found to be members of double clusters. Detailed discussions of all the individual clusters are presented. The estimated parameters for the single and double clusters are listed in two di erent tables. About 50% of the clusters are in the age range 100{300 Myr, the rest of them being older or younger. Comparison with previous age estimates shows some agreement as well as some deviation. The remaining 12 clusters which could not be categorized as genuine star clusters are studied in Chapter 4. These clusters have poor (/suspi-cious) density enhancement and cluster features when compared to their surrounding elds. It is important to study such cluster candidates, as these objects probe the lower limit of the cluster mass function. Detailed discussion on these individual objects are presented and their estimated parameters are tabulated in this chapter. A detailed discussion based on the study of all the 45 inconspicuous clusters is presented in this chapter, including the estimated sizes (radii 2{10 pc), reddening with respect to eld, and location in the LMC. The mass limit estimated for genuine clusters is found to be 1000 M , whereas for possible clusters/asterisms it is few 100 M , using synthetic CMDs. The study of sparse clusters enlarged the number of objects con rmed as genuine star clusters (33) and estimated their fundamental parameters. The study emphasizes that the sizes and masses of the studied sample are found to be similar to that of open clusters in the MW. Thus, this study adds to the lower end of cluster mass distribution in the LMC, suggesting that the LMC, apart from hosting rich clusters, also has formed small, less massive open clusters in the 100{300 Myr age range. The 12 cases of possible clusters/asterisms are worthy of attention, in the sense that they can throw light on the survival time of such objects in the LMC. Photometric metallicity map of the LMC using RGB stars: A metallic-ity map of the LMC is estimated using OGLE III and MCPS photometric data. This is a rst of its kind map of metallicity up to a radius of 4{5 de-grees, derived using photometric data and calibrated using spectroscopic data of RGB stars. The RGB is identi ed in the V, (V I) CMDs of small areal subregions of varying sizes in both data sets. The slope of the RGB is used as an indicator of the average metallicity of a subregion, and this RGB slope is calibrated to metallicity using spectroscopic data for eld and cluster RGs in selected subregions. The metallicity map estimated using OGLE III photometric data is presented in Chapter 5. A method to identify the RGB of small subre-gions within the LMC and estimate its slope by using a consistent and automated method was developed. The technique is robust and indepen-dent of reddening and extinction. The details of calibrating the RGB slopes to metallicities, using previous spectroscopic results of RGs in eld and star clusters are presented. The OGLE III metallicity maps are pre sented, based on four cut-o criteria to separate regions with good ts. The OGLE III map has substantial coverage of the bar, the eastern and western LMC, but does not cover the northern and southern regions. The OGLE III metallicity map shows the bar region to be metal rich whereas the eastern and western regions to be relatively metal poor. The mean metallicity is estimated for three di erent regions within the LMC. For the complete LMC the mean [Fe/H] is = 0.39 dex ( [Fe/H] = 0.10); for the bar region it is = 0.35 dex ( [Fe/H] = 0.9); and for the outer LMC it is = 0.46 dex ( [Fe/H] = 0.11). The metallicity histogram for these di erent regions are also estimated. A radial metallicity gradient is estimated in the de-projected plane of the LMC. The metallicity gradient is seen to remain almost constant in the bar region (till a radius of 2.5 kpc) and has a shallow gradient of 0.066 0.006 dex kpc 1 beyond that till 4 kpc. In Chapter 6 the metallicity map based on MCPS photometric data is estimated. The MCPS data covers more of the northern and south-ern LMC (less of eastern and western regions) and is important to be analysed in order to reveal the metallicity trend of the overall disk. The systematic di erences between the lter systems of MCPS and OGLE III are corrected, and the MCPS slopes are then calibrated using the OGLE III slope{metallicity relation. The MCPS metallicity maps are presented, based on four cut-o criteria to separate regions with good ts. The bar region is found to be metal rich as was found using OGLE III data, whereas the northern and southern regions are marginally metal poor. The mean metallicity estimated for the complete LMC is = 0.37 dex ( [Fe/H] = 0.12); and for the outer LMC it is = 0.41 dex ( [Fe/H] = 0.11). The metallicity histogram for these di erent regions are estimated and compared with the OGLE III distribution. The metallicity range of the complete LMC is found to be almost similar for both data sets. The metallicity distribution within the bar has a narrow range as found using both data sets. The slight di erence between mean metallicity of outer LMC for the two data sets is attributed to their coverage. We suggest that the northern and southern regions of the LMC could be marginally more metal rich than the eastern and western regions. The metallicity gradient of the LMC disk, estimated from MCPS data is found to be shallow 0.049 0.002 dex kpc 1 till about 4 kpc. We also constructed a metallicity map of outliers using both OGLE III and MCPS data, and identi ed subregions where the mean metallic-ity di ers from the surrounding areas. We suggest further spectroscopic studies in order to assess their physical significance. The detailed conclusion of the thesis and future work are presented in Chapter 7. From the study of sparse star clusters in the LMC, it is concluded that LMC has open cluster like star cluster systems. It is important to include them to understand the cluster formation history (CFH) and their survival time scale. Presently, our understanding of the CFH is dominated by rich clusters. The bar of the LMC is found to be the most metal rich region, and the LMC metallicity gradient though shallow, resembles the gradient seen in spiral galaxies. The gradient is also similar to that found in our Galaxy. The higher metallicity in the bar region might indicate an active bar in the past.